TEN SHILLING NOTES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2780, 26 May 1916, Page 7

TEN SHILLING NOTES

THE VANISHING HALFSOVEREIGN. Tho banks'trading in New Zealand aro seeking legislation to issue 10s. bank notes. Information was recently received from Australia that no more half-sov-. eroigns" would be minted there pending the cutting of new dies, the old onD3 having worn out. Since then, however, export of gold in any form,. bullion or com, from Australia has been prohibited, i'o provide a common medium in the place of the half-sovereign the banks are ■seeiung legislative authority to issue 10s. notes. This is only following the example of the Imperial Government, which, issued 10s. notes directly after the outbreak of war. Half-sovereigns for' some time past have been exceedingly scarce in New Zealand, and comparatively few of thorn now reach tho banks. The inference is that they are being hoarded, henco tho necessity for tho issue of a noto for 10s. , It is not known if tho size of the'proposed 10s. hoto has been decided upon. Iho matter of uniformity, in .sizo is important, however, because while there was current in England before the war one issue of notes only, those of. the Bank of'. England and that of the, lowest was for Australia has now only one note, issue. New Zealand has six banks, all issuing-notes of different designs for note.i of the same denominations, and •.II much about the same, in size. The Commonwealtli Bank .£1 Is. and 10s. notes, when about tne same size," caused 6ome .confusion, and in that case there was only one bank "of issue. In New' Zealand to reneat, we have six. The C6mmonweaUh Lank,in .order to prevent confusion, ..ias found it necessary to.-mako. its 10s. note distinctive as. to size-it is smaller II ! l -t others. It would appear,' then, that u Ids. notes are authorised for issue 111 New' Zealand they should''be of a distinctive 'size, preferably of a smaller if | not half the size nf the ,£1 notqs